Relationships and sexuality education (RSE) lessons are set to restart at a Northern Ireland primary school following the resignation of two Church-appointed governors earlier this month. The news has been welcomed by Northern Ireland Humanists, which campaigns for comprehensive, fact-based RSE lessons for all pupils regardless of background.
Pupils at Killinchy Primary School in County Down have not had any RSE for over 18 months after a row led to the subject being suspended in January 2020. Some parents with children at the school believe that the former Board Vice Chair, the Reverend Stanley Gamble, was involved in blocking the lessons because they were supposedly not in line with the teaching of the Church. Gamble said that he was ‘in favour of the provision of RSE at Killinchy Primary School’ but only ‘so long as it accords with the [Protestant] ethos of the school.’
The blocked lessons involved teaching ‘scientific language for “private” body parts’, which was to be ‘introduced at a very low level’. These lessons play an important role in safeguarding. For older children, there were also due to be lessons on ‘puberty and personal hygiene’.
Killinchy is a ‘controlled’ primary school. This means that in practice it is largely attended by children from Protestant backgrounds. Controlled schools are required by law to have a proportion of governors who represent Protestant churches. Gamble was one of these. A recent report published by the University of Ulster looked into the requirement to appoint Church governors. It found that leads to many being ‘selected on the basis of their faith’ instead of ‘their capacity to deliver an effective system of management.’
Gamble and another Church-appointed governor, the Reverend Stephen Reain Adair, resigned from the Board of Governors on 4 June. They were joined by Board Chair, Michelle McIlveen, who is also a DUP MLA and was recently appointed to the position of Northern Ireland Education Minister. The resignations came after more than 50 parents wrote to the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Education Committee to express their concerns about the way the school was being governed.
Yesterday, the school sent parents a letter containing information about the resumption of its RSE development programme and an invitation to submit feedback on a draft RSE policy. It is looking to re-introduce the lessons from September 2021.
Northern Ireland Humanists Coordinator Boyd Sleator commented:
‘All the best evidence shows that comprehensive, fact-based RSE plays a central role in helping children to grow up healthy, happy, and safe. For this reason, we are delighted that the pupils at Killinchy Primary School will finally be getting these vital lessons after more than 18 months.
‘But to avoid similar disruption in the future, religious carve-outs requiring RSE to be taught in line with the ethos of the school should be abolished. Likewise, the practice of appointing governors on the basis of their religious affiliation rather than their ability to carry out the job also needs to end. We hope both these issues are considered as part of the forthcoming independent review of education so that cases like this are prevented from happening anywhere in Northern Ireland.’
Notes:
For further comment or information, please contact Northern Ireland Humanists Coordinator Boyd Sleator at boyd@humanists.uk or phone 02890 029946.
Read Killinchy Primary School’s draft RSE policy and the letter to parents.
Read our most recent article on the resignation of Church-appointed governors at Killinchy Primary School.
Read our most recent article on why a school row over relationships and sexuality education shows the problems with Church-appointed governors.
Read our most recent article on the new Catholic sex education programme that describes sex and puberty as a ‘gift from God’.
Read our article on how the school governance system bolsters community division in Northern Ireland.
Read more about our work on schools and education.
Read more about our work on faith schools.
Northern Ireland Humanists is part of Humanists UK, working with the Humanist Association of Ireland. Humanists UK is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people. Powered by 100,000 members and supporters, we advance free thinking and promote humanism to create a tolerant society where rational thinking and kindness prevail. We provide ceremonies, pastoral care, education, and support services benefitting over a million people every year and our campaigns advance humanist thinking on ethical issues, human rights, and equal treatment for all.
In 2021, Humanists UK is celebrating its 125th anniversary with a renewed focus on its history. The new website Humanist Heritage is a rich new web resource that uncovers the untold story of humanism in the UK – a story of people, groups, objects, places, movements, publications, and ideas.